February 27, 2024

Note: Clients with AEGIS Platform access can see this and other research, plus hedge portfolio reporting and tools here. 

• LME Aluminum 3M Select is up $16/mt, recouping some of yesterday’s losses.
  • Last trade was $2,198/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • Alcoa has made a $2 billion bid to buyout Alumina Ltd, an Australian joint-venture arm of Alcoa, the company announced earlier this week. This move would help consolidate and streamline Alcoa’s Australian operations and would “enhanceAlcoa’s position as of one of the world’s largest bauxite and alumina producers,” according to Alcoa’s press release. Alcoa has recently experienced issues with its Australian alumina operations, including the closure of the Kwinana alumina plant as part of a cost-cutting measure. (Sources: Bloomberg, Alcoa)
• LME Copper 3M Select is up $48/mt, pausing after Monday’s 1% loss.
  • Last trade was $8,497/mt (6:45 AM CST)
  • Jubilee Metals Group, a diversified mining company with assets across southern Africa, is in the process of buying a shuttered Zambian copper-cobalt refinery from Eurasian
    Resources Group (ERG), according to Zambia’s mining ministry. ERG closed the plant in 2020 due to a lack of feedstock. The refinery, which is situated near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has a production capacity of 55,000 mt/yr for copper and 6,000 mt/year of cobalt. The DRC and Zambia are Africa’s top producers of copper and cobalt. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Prompt month CME HRC Steel last settled at $922/st (6:45 AM CST).
  • Ukraine struck Russia’s largest steel mill over the weekend, coinciding with the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. The steel produced in this mill is used to manufacture Russia’s armaments, including missiles, drones, and artillery. The mill is responsible for approximately 18% of Russia’s annual steel production. (Source: Reuters)

Price Indications

Today's Charts

AEGIS Insights

2/21/2024: AEGIS Factor Matrices: Most important variables affecting metals prices

2/13/2024: Important US Economic Data (AEGIS Reference)

2/2/2024: China's Real Estate Woes Provide Opportunity for Copper Consumers

1/25/2024: Aluminum Starts 2024 On a Down Note, But Potential Supply Shocks Give Consumers a Reason to Hedge

1/4/2024: Year-End Review of LME Aluminum, Copper, CME HRC Steel and Hedging Implications for 2024

12/8/2023: Aluminum and Copper Markets Diverge but Hedging Opportunities Persist for End-Users

2/25/2024: Alcoa Announces Agreement With Alumina Limited on Terms and Process to Acquire Alumina Limited in All-Stock Transaction

2/24/2024: Ukraine says it struck big Russian steel plant on invasion anniversary

Important Disclosure: Indicative prices are provided for information purposes only, and do not represent a commitment from AEGIS Hedging Solutions LLC ("Aegis") to assist any client to transact at those prices, or at any price, in the future. Aegis makes no guarantee to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Aegis and/or its trading principals do not offer a trading program to clients, nor do they propose guiding or directing a commodity interest account for any client based on any such trading program. Certain information in this presentation may constitute forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “edge,” “advantage,” “opportunity,” “believe” or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance or activities.